| Notes |
- Remains of Mayor McCaskey are Re-Interred
The Reading Eagle several days ago [Nov. 13, 1907, p.2] had the following items of local interest:
The remains of three persons were exhumed at the old public burial ground, on the corner leading from Elverson to Loag's Corner, which had been buried 118, 130, and 160 years, respectively. The place is located on the farm of C. Allen James. No interments are known to have been made here for more than a century. This burial spot was established in the days when there were no denominational cemeteries in existence. In those days burial places were frequently established at or near the public school houses, while in many instances there were family burial grounds on farms. For many years there was located near the above named burial ground a school house, which was torn away many years ago and replaced by a new one a short distance away. The three bodies exhumed were those of John Piersol and Alice, his wife, and their daughter Mary, wife of David Davis.
From the inscriptions on the tombstones it was learned that John Piersol died Nov. 8, 1777, at the age of 100 years; Alice Piersol, his wife, died Dec. 29, 1789 at the age of 84 years; and their daughter, Mary, wife of David Davis, died March 6, 1748, at the age of 19 years. . . .
The remains of each were carefully separated from Mother Earth, placed in a small box and conveyed to St. John's Episcopal cemetery at Compassville, Chester County, where they will be reinterred on the Piersol family plot. These bodies were exhumed at the insistance of John Piersol McCaskey, mayor of Lancaster city, who is a descendant of John Piersol. Mr. McCaskey is of the opinion that it was the intention of his ancestor that the entire relationship should be buried in one place and he thinks it is his duty to see this idea is carried out.
John Piersol was the great-great-great-grandfather of Mayor McCaskey and with his interment on the family plot in Compassville, he can look on the graves of all his ancestors since 1677. John Piersol was at one time an extensive land owner in West Nantmeal, possessing more than 250 acres, which was held in the Piersol name, until about a century ago. While many others are known to have been buried at this burying ground, the graves of those exhumed are the only ones that bore markers.
New Holland Clarion, Saturday, November 16, 1907, page 1
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1729 - 1748 (19 years)
